Interview with our Pharmacologist
In this blog, our pharmacologist responsible for developing our IBS formula talks about his own experiences with IBS, what has worked for him in reducing his attacks, and how the formula he developed is helping him.
How long have you been suffering from IBS and what are your main symptoms?
My first memory of IBS is as a 9 year old walking home from school everyday with stabbing pains in my belly and the need for urgent diarrhoea. This was a daily thing for me, so much so that I thought this semi-debilitating condition was normal.
In fact, the experience was so normal for me that I went through much of my adult life experiencing regular, intense stabbing pains in my intestines, and from my late twenties began to have almost 24/7 bloating and of course daily diarrhoea.
It was only as I began to experiment with an elimination diet that I quickly realised that some foods and certain ingredients made things worse for me. It was not an instant fix, but knowing that I could make a difference gave me the motivation to learn everything I could about my symptoms and how to fix them.
Why did you develop IBS advanced formula +?
Having researched all potential solutions and getting hooked on short term pharmaceutical remedies that didn’t help my long-term condition, I knew there must be a better way to manage my IBS. I have worked in the health supplement industry for over 30 years so used my experience and expertise to develop a formula using ingredients that have been scientifically proven to work for specific conditions.
How does your formula help?
IBS sufferers tend to have these two common things:
- IBS sufferers often have inflamed intestine lining because of the long-term irritation in the gut
- IBS sufferers usually have long-term problems with overactive mast cells which causes allergic responses
The ingredients in IBS Advanced Formula+ are designed to suppress inflammation and over-active allergic responses in the gut. Otherwise both of these mechanisms are influential in making the symptoms of IBS worse than they need to be.
Is it enough just to take IBS Advanced Formula +?
The ingredients in our formula give your body a head start on healing itself once the overactive allergic reactions and inflammation are reduced the gut lining can begin to heal naturally.
However, this beneficial effect may not be enough on its own. If whatever has been causing your IBS in the long-term is still present, your body will be in a constant fight to repair the gut lining, balanced between the negative reaction to certain foods and the positive reaction to IBS Advanced Formula+ and your body's natural tendency to heal.
Ordinarily it can be enough to eliminate certain food types to stop the constant onslaught on your gut lining. You can and should try a low FODMAP diet as this usually helps reduce painful spasms, but also try eliminating foods to determine if anything in particular causes episodes for you.
What was your own personal experience when eliminating foods?
In my case I found that anything containing garlic, onions or related allium vegetables caused an almost instant reaction. In the UK these are common ingredients found everywhere from ready made food to high end restaurants so they were hard for me to eliminate. However, I have found that for long-term sufferers it can be 'normal' to react to literally anything, from a glass of water to literally anything spicier than a bowl of white rice.
In this case a combination of IBS Advanced Formula+ and an elimination diet can help fight IBS from both flanks, giving your body all the chances you can for it to heal.
What are the key points you want readers to take away after reading this blog?
It may not be enough to take IBS Advanced Formula+ alone, you may need to spend weeks or months eliminating all but the most plain of foods while your body has a chance to heal. After that you should be able to be more adventurous, slowly adding in small amounts of other foods.
I personally had success with plain rice with fried chicken for my main meal of the day for a couple of weeks, combined with a non-inulin fibre supplement daily, followed a couple of weeks later by adding in plain vegetables like fresh mushrooms, then tomatoes.
I also started out each meal with something to generate stomach acid, for example a slice of lemon, a few rocket leaves or a teaspoon of white vinegar and made an effort to eat slowly and chew well to slow the passage of food through my stomach.
Now I can eat most things although I religiously avoid garlic and onion and try to keep gluten low. I am at the stage where a little of anything is okay, but I cannot eat freely without risk, and a badly chosen meal can leave me reacting badly to anything for weeks.
However, I still take my IBS Advanced Formula+ daily to keep things at bay, and so long as I do that and avoid my trigger foods I am able to live pain free with minimal IBS episodes. For the past few years I’ve felt like a normal person which, having spent most of my life with IBS without even realising it wasn’t normal has driven me to help get the message out about how to fix what can be a debilitating condition.
Please share your own experiences by adding your own comments below. If you are yet to try our supplements, click here to read more information.